Russian Meddling Across Platforms
November 13, 2017
During our last presidential election, Russia sowed American division through online propaganda appearing well beyond Facebook. An article in Ubergizmo reports, “Google Finds Evidence of Russia-Linked Ads on Search, YouTube, and Gmail.” Leave it to the search company to find these clues. Writer Adnan Farooqui tells us:
The Washington Post reports that Google has discovered evidence that a campaign by the Russian government spread propaganda through advertising on its platforms. A recent report revealed that Twitter had uncovered similar ads as well. The scribe mentions that Google’s investigation into the matter is in early stages for now. It’s said to be in the process of separating ads from legitimate Russian sources from the ones used to spread propaganda.
For its part, Google assures us they are working with researchers and with other companies to investigate ways bad actors have abused the Google ecosystem. They also emphasize their “strict” policies on targeted advertising; political ads cannot be targeted by race or religion, for example. Will their efforts be enough to stop foreign interference in its tracks?
Cynthia Murrell, November 13, 2017
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